NEDERLAND - The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors reviewed during their meeting on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the increasing number of calls of significance responded to by firefighters and medical crews over the last...
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NEDERLAND - During their meeting on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors reviewed the increasing number of calls of significance their firefighters and medical crews responded to over the last month, including seven calls to Eldora as they kicked off ski season.
Chief Charlie Schmidtmann reported the calls of significance that have occurred since November 20, remarking that they may reach over 500 calls this year. NFPD medical personnel responded to seven calls to the Eldora ski hill, including a broken leg, back injury, head injury, another leg injury, and a report of altitude sickness.
Crews also attended to a stabbing victim in downtown Nederland; to a 53-year-old and a 58-year-old, each suffering chest pains; to a suicidal person in Gilpin County; to a rollover in the canyon; to one patient suffering breathing problems and another abdominal pain; to a rollover on Caribou Road; and to an elevator rescue at the Nederland Community Center.
The Nederland Fire Department’s station generator was refilled with the help of Town of Nederland staff. The generator's water pump was found to be leaking badly during the last major power outage; Schmidtmann diagnosed the issue and it has since been repaired.
The NFPD’s focus on updating all of their communication equipment continues as Schmidtmann reported that he has authored a grant application to complete the replacement of radios for all their apparatuses.
One of the NFPD’s vehicles suffered minor damage to a rear grab rail, having been accidentally backed into a roadside guardrail. Additionally, the NFPD’s vehicles received replacement valves, repaired headlights, and one received a repaired lightbar.
It was reported that staff reviews of all district firefighters were nearly complete. NFPD firefighters also enjoyed their annual holiday party at Busey Brews, organized in part by Sherry Snyder, Sarah Irwin-Powell, and Amber Joslin.
Six NFPD candidates have signed up for Firefighter 1 training, to take place in the spring. Personnel also attended training on extreme temperature injuries. A CPR and First Aid class for the community is being planned by the NFPD, with Schmidtmann himself having recently taught a class.
Schmidtmann announced that Lieutenant Candidate Bobby Swanson has accepted a job offer from Boulder Rural Fire as a Lateral Firefighter, and that Firefighter Max Schmidtmann has graduated from EMT school. FF Schmidtmann has also won an award for leadership.
Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin’s report highlighted that several Ned businesses were operating with deficiencies in their Fire Protection Systems. Joslin noted that these issues with business’ sprinklers, alarms, or ventilation hoods were not “impairments,” and that they are being actively resolved by property owners, with over half of the reported issues already settled.
Joslin reported that if it were not for the Compliance Engine monitoring software, which the NFPD implemented several years ago, they would not have been made aware of the issues until the annual inspections of those businesses.
The NFPD has been working on having their Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) data collected into their First Due software system. This process was to be administered through Boulder County dispatch services, which secures the digital CAD data into a server, or “data warehouse.”
This process has been difficult due to Boulder County’s extremely protective process in relation to the data, which also results in an issue synchronizing the County’s data warehouse and the First Due software. A solution would require additional software programming by First Due, at a cost to the NFPD.
Joslin expressed that the CAD integration process needs to move forward expediently and reported that a “Plan B” alternative is being pursued, one which would allow district personnel to view the notes on calls of significance in real time on a tablet, phone, or laptop, through First Due.
The Board was also notified that Joslin is working with the Town of Nederland on amendments to update the Fire Code. Any amendments need to be reviewed by both the Nederland Board of Trustees and Boulder County Commissioners. Joslin stated that he expected to have the amendments drafted by next summer.
An Intergovernmental Agreement between the NFPD and Timberline Fire Protection District regarding sharing the services of a mechanic has been drafted and reviewed by both Districts’ lawyers. The TFPD Board has already signed the document; the NFPD Board expressed no concerns with moving forward and signing the document.
The Nederland Fire Protection District Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of every month. Meetings can be attended online via Microsoft Teams. Their first meeting of the new year will be on Wednesday, January 15, 2024, at 7 p.m.
For more information on the Nederland Fire Protection District, go to: https://www.nfpd.org.